Mining

Tietto Minerals reports bonanza 180.86g/t gold hit at Abujar

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By Imelda Cotton - 
Tietto Minerals ASX TIE gold Abujar Gludehi Côte d Ivoire West Africa Ivory Coast AG South

Latest drilling at Abujar has returned 1m at 180.86g/t gold from 57m.

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West African gold explorer and developer Tietto Minerals (ASX: TIE) has reported further high-grade results from drilling at the Abujar gold project in West Africa, including a bonanza 180.86 grams per tonne gold from the Abujar-Gludehi (AG) South deposit.

A series of shallow intercepts have been received from an ongoing 40,000m infill drilling program targeting inferred resources outside the deposit’s maiden ore reserve announced this week of 15.7Mt at 1.7g/t gold for 860,000 ounces, within a 22.9Mt mining inventory grading 1.5g/t gold for 1.12Moz.

The latest drilling showcased a best gold result of 7m at 51.56g/t from 53m, including 1m at 21.15g/t from 53m; 1m at 152.70g/t from 56m; and 1m at 180.86g/t from 57m.

Also recorded was 3m at 52.95g/t gold from 71m, including 1m at 121.0g/t gold from 71m; and 1m at 36.01g/t gold from 72m.

Tietto confirmed the high-grade mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth.

The results will be added to the company’s drilling database ahead of the next mineral resource update for Abujar due next month.

That update will drive mine mill optimisation and ore reserve work for the project’s definitive feasibility study scheduled for completion later this year.

Exceeding expectations

Tietto managing director Dr Caigen Wang said the latest holes continue to exceed expectations with “multiple, ultra-high grade gold hits”.

“These results sit outside of our recently-announced maiden ore reserve and are within the inferred material making up the mining inventory [at Abujar],” he said.

“As we combine the updated resource with enhancements identified in the pre-feasibility study, I expect to see an uplift in our ore reserves at AG even before the infill drilling at [the] APG [deposit] and drilling below the pre-feasibility pit at AG.”

A fleet of six diamond rigs will begin testing a multitude of exploration targets around the site of a proposed mill at Abujar, at a rate of around 11,000m per month.

The company is targeting the completion of 100,000m of drilling by year end, funded by approximately $52 million cash in bank.

“On the development front, we have mapped out a clear path to delivery for our fully-funded definitive feasibility study as we move towards Abujar becoming West Africa’s next major gold mine,” Dr Wang said.

Project location

The Abujar gold project is located about 30km from the major regional city of Daloa in central western Côte D’Ivoire.

It comprises the Middle, South and North contiguous exploration tenements over a total 1,114 square kilometres, of which less than 10% has been explored.

Tietto has substantially advanced the project since starting exploration in mid-2015 with the identification of 3.02Moz in indicated and inferred resources and the completion of a pre-feasibility study announced yesterday.